San Mateo chef wins ‘Cookbook of the Year’ award

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt will sign cookbooks April 11 at Pal’s Take Away in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of Firebrand Artisan Breads)

The International Association of Culinary Professionals has announced its annual cookbook awards, and the Serious Eats science wizard — J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, based in San Mateo — scored the “American cookbook” award for his book, “The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.”

He then won the equivalent of best in show, the “Cookbook of the Year” award.

“The Food Lab” was edited by Maria Guarnaschelli and published by W.W. Norton Co. It’s part science lesson and more a tome than a mere cookbook, clocking in at 958 pages.

Lopez-Alt is passionate about the science of food, as our colleague Jackie Burrell’s fall 2015 interview with him showed. Here’s what he told us about the science behind the flavors of his savory-sweet pumpkin soup:

Roasting the pumpkins and squash caramelizes the sugars and triggers the Maillard reaction or browning, he says, but there’s more going on.

“Sugar breaks down and reforms into aromatic compounds, ” he says. “There’s a simple concentration. You’re drying up moisture (in the oven) and then, in the case of the squash, replacing that liquid with more flavorful liquid — stock. And there’s an enzymatic reaction breaking down the starches into sugar that gives it a jump start. The squash is much sweeter.”